Golf tee awl and awl retaining sheath

ABSTRACT

A golf tee awl for making holes in the ground to make it easier to insert golf tees. The awl has a circular knob-shaped handle with a sharpened shank or spike protruding therefrom and a protective sheath which covers the sharpened shank when the awl is not in use. The sheath has an elongated shank receiving member which is fixedly connected to a clip which fits on the belt of a person using the awl. The clip has an outwardly extending awl retaining portion which releasably engages the awl handle to retain the awl in the sheath, but may be deflected out of engagement with the handle to permit withdrawal of the awl from the sheath. The shank receiving member and handle are preferably made of plastic and the clip for the sheath is preferably made of metal.

This invention relates to a golf tee awl for making holes in the groundprior to inserting golf tees and a sheath for holding the awl which canbe worn on the belt of a person using the awl, which sheath is held onthe belt by a clip which also serves to retain the awl in the sheath.

PRIOR ART

The closest prior art known to applicant is applicant's own prior U.S.Pat. No. 4,090,298 issued May 23, 1978.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is a primary object of this invention to improve upon applicant'sprior inventions in U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,298 and applicant's copendingapplication Ser. No. 941,286 filed Sept. 11, 1978, now issued as U.S.Pat. No. 4,190,955 by providing a sheath which is easier to use wheninserting and removing the awl from the sheath and by providing animproved clip having a retainer portion to prevent the awl from comingdislodged from the sheath when it is carried on the belt of a wearer.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sheath and awlcombination which will be comfortable when worn by the user.

Another object of the invention is to provide a golf tee hole makingdevice which can be carried on the user's belt without danger of injuryfrom the spike member used to make the holes for the golf tees.

These and other objects of the invention will become more fully apparentas the description proceeds in the following specification and theattached drawings.

STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION

This invention is the combination of a golf tee awl for making holes inthe ground for inserting golf tees and a sheath comprising: an awlhaving a handle, and a shank having one end connected to the handle andthe opposite end being pointed for insertion in the ground, and a sheathcomprising; an elongated clip for attachment to the belt of a personusing the awl, an elongated awl receiving member fixedly attached to theclip in parallel alignment therewith, said awl receiving member havingan axial receptacle therein for receiving the shank, and means on theclip releasably retaining the awl in the sheath.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the device of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the device of the invention withportions of the sheath broken away to show how the awl fits into thesheath;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 2 showing the awlbeing withdrawn from the sheath; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4--4 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the entire awl andsheath assembly is indicated by the numeral 1. An awl 2 is removeablymounted in a sheath 3. The awl 2 has a handle 4 made preferably ofplastic to which is attached an elongated shank or spike 5 having itsfree end sharpened to provide easier penetration into the ground. Thehandle 4 is shaped generally like one type of door knob and has a handgrippable portion 6 of substantially elliptical cross-section whichmerges with a shank receiving portion 7 which is frustoconical incross-section. The grippable portion 6 has a truncated portion at onelocation on the circumference which forms a flat surface 8. The flatsurface 8 enables the awl 2 when placed in the sheath 3 to be worn on abelt 9 of a person using the device without discomfort, since the flatsurface 8 is aligned with a belt engaging clip 10 and is turned facingthe wearer's hip as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The flat surface 8 alsoprovides a portion of the handle 4 which may easily be engaged by theclip 10 to hold the awl 2 in the sheath 3 as will be described later inmore detail. The flat surface 8 is also useful in preventing the awl 2from rolling when placed on a surface such as a table top.

The sheath 3 is comprised of a clip 10 which is preferably stamped froma flat sheet of steel and formed to the shape best illustrated in FIG. 2by conventional means which are well known in the metal forming art, andan elongated awl receiving member 11 preferably molded of plastic withan axial bore 12 for receiving the shank 5 of the awl 2. The clip 10 andthe awl receiving member 11 are fixedly connected together by a screw 13or other suitable means passing through a hole 14 in an offset portion15 formed in a first portion 16 of the clip 10. The awl receiving member11 is substantially rectangular in cross-section as may be seen in FIG.4, but has a flat recess 17 extending longitudinally of the member 11 onone of the sides thereof. A counterbore 18 is formed near thelongitudinal center of the recess 17 for receiving the offset 15 of theclip 10. It may be seen that the awl receiving member 14 is thereforefixedly attached to the clip 10 by the screw 13 which holds it in therecess 17 so that it cannot rotate about the screw 13.

By referring to FIG. 2 it may be seen that the first portion 16 of theclip 10 extends upwardly from the top of the member 11 and has anoutwardly bowed portion 19 which extends towards the axial center of theawl 2 when it is in the sheath 3 and engages the top of the handle 4adjacent the flat surface 8, thereby holding the awl 2 in the sheath 3.The bowed portion 19 merges into a flat portion 20 which is used asshown in FIG. 3 as a pressure surface for the thumb of a user to deflectthe clip 10 rearwardly so that the bowed portion will move away from thehandle 4 and permit withdrawal of the awl 2 from the sheath 3. Bypressing the thumb on the surface of the flat portion 20 andsimultaneously pulling upwardly on the handle 4, the awl 2 may be easilyremoved from the sheath 3. By pressing on the flat portion 20 the awl 2may be slipped past the bowed portion 19 and returned to the sheath 3where it is locked in position by the bowed portion 19.

It should be mentioned that the axial bore 12 has an enlarged diameterportion 21 near the top to receive the shank receiving part 7 of thehandle 4.

In addition to the first portion 16 of the clip 10, a second portion 22is folded downwardly from the first portion 16 at the upper end of theflat portion 20 and the second portion 22 extends downwardly alongsideof the first portion 16 to form a hook for engaging the belt 9 of awearer as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. A lower extension 23 of the clip 10projects below the member 11 to help guide the sheath 3 when it is beingplaced on the belt of a wearer and protect the wearer's clothes fromdamage.

While the dimensions of the invention may vary somewhat, the shank 5should be long enough to provide a hole which is deep enough toaccomodate any standard size golf tee and smaller in diameter that thediameter of the golf tee at the portion that is below ground when thetee is in operative position. Golf tees may vary in diameter fromapproximately 0.150" (3.81 mm.) to 0.200" (5.08 mm.), depending uponwhether they are wood or plastic. A good working diameter for the shankis from 0.100" (2.54 mm.) to 0.1875" (4.76 mm.). This produces a holewhich should hold the tee firmly in the ground. The length of the shankmay vary from 1" (25.4 mm.) to 1.75" (44.45 mm.). This range shouldprovide a hole of sufficient depth for any standard size tee.

While for the purpose of illustrating the invention the handle and theawl receiving member are shown as made of plastic and the shank of theawl and the clip of the sheath are shown as made of metal, it should beunderstood that various other materials could be used so long as theyhave the necessary physical properties. These and various othermodifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of theinvention.

I claim:
 1. The combination of a golf tee awl for making holes in theground for inserting golf tees and a sheath comprising:(A) a handleportion to be held in the hand of the user; (B) a shank portion havingone end thereof attached to the handle portion; (C) the opposite end ofthe shank portion having a sharpened point to provide ease ofpenetration into the ground when pressure is exerted against the handleportion; (D) the handle portion having at least one flat surface lyingin a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of the handle and shankportion; and (E) a sheath for attachment to the golf tee awlcomprising;(1) an elongated awl receiving member having an axialreceptacle therein for receiving the shank portion of the awl, and (2)an elongated clip having a first portion fixedly attached to theexterior of the awl receiving member in parallel alignment with the axisof the receptacle thereof, and a second portion folded over against thefirst portion, the clip being adapted to receive the belt of a wearerbetween the first and second portion thereof, (3) an outwardly extendingawl retaining means on the first portion of the clip, to releasablyengage the flat surface of the handle portion of the awl and retain theawl in the sheath, (4) said awl retaining means having a relatively flatportion inclined at an angle with respect to the axis of the receptacle,against which pressure may be applied by the thumb of the user of thedevice to move the awl retaining means out of engagement with the handleportion to permit withdrawal of the awl from the sheath bysimultaneously pulling upwardly on the handle of the awl.
 2. Thecombination claimed in claim 1 wherein the means attaching the clip tothe awl receiving member is at least one screw passing through anopening in the clip and screwed into the awl receiving member.
 3. Thecombination as claimed in claim 1 wherein the awl receiving member hasan axially extending recess for receiving and retaining the firstportion of the clip.
 4. The combination of a golf tee awl for makingholes in the ground for inserting golf tees and a sheath comprising:(A)an awl having;(1) a handle, and (2) a shank having one end connected tothe handle and the opposite end being pointed for insertion into theground, and (B) a sheath comprising;(1) an elongated clip for attachmentto the belt of a person using the awl, (2) an elongated awl receivingmember fixedly attached to the clip in parallel alignment therewith, (3)said awl receiving member having an axial receptacle therein forreceiving the shank, and (4) an outwardly extending awl retaining meanson the clip engaging the handle of the awl to releasably retain the awlin the sheath, (5) said awl retaining means having a relatively flatportion inclined at an angle with respect to the axis of the receptacle,against which pressure may be applied by the user's thumb to move theawl retaining means out of engagement with the handle portion to permitwithdrawal of the awl from the sheath by simultaneously pulling upwardlyon the handle.
 5. The combination as claimed in claim 4 wherein themeans attaching the clip to the awl receiving member is at least onescrew passing through an opening in the clip and screwed into the awlreceiving member.
 6. The combination as claimed in claim 4 wherein theawl receiving member has an axially extending recess for receiving andretaining the first portion of the clip.